How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 87

Chapter 87

 

That was right.

According to Joo Gyeongbeom, what the Boss was “afraid of” was none other than the sound of nail clippers.

The moment I heard it, I wanted to refute him, but barely held myself back.

‘No, that’s not fear. I just hate it.’

Who in the world would be scared of something as trivial as the sound of nail clippers?

‘They’re making me out to be some kind of weirdo.’

I was dumbfounded, but Joo Gyeongbeom smiled happily.

“I don’t know how I forgot about this. I guess I got too used to it myself. While serving Boss, I never had any reason to use nail clippers either.”

He showed me his neatly groomed fingers.

“Even after Boss lost consciousness, I’ve been filing my nails for months now. Habits really are… funny.”

That made me feel somewhat awkward.

Had I made things difficult for the people around me just because I was overly sensitive about pointless things?

‘But what can I do if I hate hearing it?’

Click, click-click, click.

That irregular sound disgusted me to the point of chills.

It felt like the sound of a part of my body being severed.

And it gave me an intense fear that someone might stab me at any moment.

‘Huh?’

‘…Wow. I really am scared of it.’

The realization came so naturally that I let out a hollow laugh.

While I sat there dumbfounded by the unexpected revelation, the two of them continued chatting enthusiastically.

“Oh? So that notice saying nobody should clip their nails in the office was because of Big Boss?”

“No. That’s just basic manners. Who clips their nails at the office?”

Joo Gyeongbeom answered, and the youngest scratched his head awkwardly.

“I see. I had no idea Boss was afraid of the sound of nail clippers.”

“He was almost transcendent in how indifferent he was to everything, but there were a few things he reacted strongly to. Nail clippers were one, and… what was it again? That drink you bought back then.”

“Ah~. The mint smoothie?”

“Right. He really hated that too. That was the first time I ever saw Boss spit out food.”

Leaving the two of them gossiping about me, I hurriedly left the building.

Still, I’d gained useful information, so I had to practice.

On the way home, I bought a pair of nail clippers, and Choo Seomok discovered them.

And now…

“Whew.”

I placed the nail clippers on the floor and stared at them for a long time.

Choo Seomok, who had followed me into my room without understanding why, looked confused.

“Mr. Seulho, why did you call me in here?”

“……”

I couldn’t bring myself to say,

‘I don’t dare to listen to that sound alone.’

But after thirty minutes of doing nothing but staring at the nail clippers, Seomok once again asked for an explanation.

‘I don’t want to explain.’

Something about it hurt my pride.

But if I sent him away, that meant I’d be left alone in the room with the nail clippers.

And I hated that even more.

‘I know it’s pathetic.’

But what if they suddenly made a sound by themselves?

Just imagining a sudden ‘click!‘ made goosebumps spread over my body.

Apparently, my face had gone pale from the thought alone, because Seomok finally spoke with genuine concern.

“Did something happen today?”

“Ha, no. It’s not that. I… need to ask you for a favor.”

I forced the words out.

I quickly explained how I’d asked some friends for advice regarding a horror movie and how they’d told me I was afraid of the sound of nail clippers.

I was prepared to throw Seomok out of the room… along with the clippers… if he responded with, ‘What kind of man is afraid of something like that?’

“Hmm.”

But his response was different.

“When you say you’re afraid of the sound of nail clippers, exactly what part frightens you? The act of cutting off a part of your body? Or purely the sound itself?”

He neither looked at me with contempt nor acted surprised.

Like a scientist calmly investigating the cause of a problem, he simply asked questions.

Because of that, I was able to speak a little more comfortably.

“It’s the sound. Just thinking about hearing it makes my hands shake.”

“Then how have you managed your nails all this time?”

“There are other tools besides nail clippers. There are scissors-type products too.”

“Ah, so it’s really the snapping sound you hate.”

Seomok nodded.

Seeing how seriously he was listening, I sighed.

“It’s been over ten years since I’ve heard that sound. People usually cut their nails at home, not outside.”

“That’s true.”

“So maybe when I actually hear it, I’ll realize it’s nothing. But no matter what, I have to hear it once.”

If I heard it and felt nothing, then I could simply rely on memories and practice.

But if I still found it frightening…

“I’ll be able to give a more vivid performance.”

“That’s true. Then shall we try?”

Finally understanding why he’d been summoned, Choo Seomok immediately picked up the nail clippers.

At the same time, my body flinched.

‘Damn, this is embarrassing.’

“Sorry. I should’ve warned you before picking them up.”

“…Ha. I don’t even know why I’m acting like this. It’s annoying.”

I let out a deep sigh and ran my hand through my hair.

Losing control over my own body was always unpleasant.

After quietly listening to me sigh several times, Seomok carefully asked,

“Can you tell me why you hate the sound of nail clippers?”

“What reason is there? I just hate it.”

“From what I can see, there seems to be another reason. It feels like you’re hiding it because you don’t want to tell me honestly.”

Choo Seomok looked straight at me.

His honest eyes, like a mythical Haetae judging truth from lies, felt burdensome.

“How long have we even known each other? How do you know whether I’m hiding something or not?”

“Sorry for acting as if I know you. But sometimes following your instincts leads to good results. And I trust my instincts.”

‘What an annoying thing to say.’

I grumbled inwardly, but I couldn’t just repeat that there was no reason.

I expressed my reluctance with another sigh.

And in the silent battle of wills that followed, I eventually lost.

“Ha, it’s an old story.”

Because the one who needed Choo Seomok’s help right now was me.

“Something from so long ago I barely remember.”

“Yes.”

“I was kidnapped once.”

“What?”

Seeing his shocked reaction, I scratched my head.

I couldn’t exactly say it happened when I was a loan shark, not Yoo Seulho, so I glossed over the timeline.

“Wasn’t it on the news?”

“Not every kidnapping makes the news. Anyway, it all ended safely. It only lasted about a week. Looking back now, it wasn’t a big deal.”

“How is that not a big deal?”

Seomok frowned.

Since there was only so much I could tell him, I hurried onward.

“Anyway, I lived with the kidnapper in a one-room apartment. I don’t even remember his face anymore.”

That was a lie.

I still remembered his face, his name, and even what he was wearing.

The reason I was kidnapped was because of business.

To explain it, I’d first have to say that I wasn’t the first owner of Haru Finance.

I’d inherited it from someone else.

And if not for that man, I would’ve starved to death on the streets.

At first, I called him “Mister.”

Later, after growing up, I called him “President.”

Anyway, this happened while he was still running the loan business and I was in elementary school.

Back then, Haru Finance didn’t only lend money to celebrities.

That change happened after I became the owner.

Before then, our clients were gangsters and wealthy businessmen.

And one debtor who had borrowed money from the President and failed to repay it found himself in mortal danger.

So he grabbed me and ran.

In his own mind, he’d taken a hostage.

As I dangled in the arms of a man I’d never met before, I remember thinking how stupid his decision was.

‘There’s no way I’d have any value as a hostage.’

The President had picked me up from the streets purely out of curiosity.

I didn’t repay that kindness until much later.

Back then, I was too young to help him in any meaningful way.

Which meant there was no reason to treat some kid who did nothing but eat as a valuable hostage and negotiate carefully with the kidnapper.

But unaware of any of that, the kidnapper believed keeping me with him would help somehow.

And so, I remained locked inside that one-room apartment for an entire week without going outside once.

There was food in the fridge, so we managed our meals somehow, but it wasn’t plentiful.

No television.

No books.

Nothing to entertain ourselves.

I remembered spending my days dying of boredom.

‘At this rate, I’ll either starve to death or die of boredom.’

Even I had thought that.

So how frustrated must the grown man who kidnapped me have been?

Afraid the President would find him at any moment, yet unable to endure the boredom, he eventually started rummaging through everything in the room.

And what he found was a pair of nail clippers.

At first, the sound came regularly.

Click. Click.

But gradually, it became irregular.

Eventually, the nails weren’t even being cut anymore, but he kept grinding his teeth and repeating the motion.

Then…

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Ah!”

“You son of a bitch! Come out!”

Even when the employees finally found us, the kidnapper still had the nail clippers in his hand.

Startled by the violent pounding on the door, the nail clippers made an unpleasant sound and cut his hand.

“There wasn’t much blood. How badly could you hurt yourself with nail clippers? But somehow, that image stuck with me.”

Anyway, things ended well.

The kidnapper was dragged away.

And I returned to the President.

Since I couldn’t tell Seomok about the President, I simply explained that the police had taken the man away.

“Anyway, after that, just hearing nail clippers makes me hate it. It feels like something bad is about to happen.”

After saying everything, I felt pathetic.

It had been twenty years.

And yet I was still caught up in something like this.